Are you in NJ??? We are and have been OVERRUN this year!! Totally gross! They aren't in my dishwasher, but just about everywhere else! I have a spray I just got at Lowe's that I spray around the perimeter of everything of everything and it helps. They also sell spikes to stick in the ground outside around the house to keep them out, but I have a tiny dog & didn't want to risk her getting into it. The other thing that works - boiling water! We boil pots of water and hit the nests we see outside the front of the house. Seems to be an endless battle....hope this helps!

I've had them in my dishwasher before. It's startling - you open the dishwasher and they all scurry around. I put out ant traps, etc, and I have also sprayed inside the dishwasher, but what helps is to run the dishwasher on rinse and hold (if you have that)so there are never dirty dishes in there. I only do that during the ant invasion.

Good luck!

I spray in front of my little front porch and all doorways. Let it dry completely before pooch gets near it. I also search all ant nests I can find and pour boiling water on them. I usually works, but sometimes a few ants still make it into the house (usually attracted by the dogs' bowls). We've never had an infestation like you're taking about though. HTH!

Been there...done that. Every year in fact. The best solution we have found by far is Terro traps. I used to get mine in Target, but I had to order them online this year. Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/Terro-300-Pre-Filled-Liquid-Killer/dp/B000HJBKMQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1307035193&sr=8-1
They're these little plastic rectangles that have this gel inside that the ants can't resist. They eat it and take it back to the nest and then they are GONE. You have to put it close to where they are coming in, and you have to have a tough constitution, b/c you may actually see swarms of them entering the trap. But don't disturb them, and they'll disappear. I swear by the stuff.

I agree, Terro traps. I get them at Lowes.

Before you go all toxic, read this. He gives a simple boric acid recipe for ants.

Here is a link that might be useful: Askthebugman

I also swear by Terro traps. The ants will come like crazy when you put them out, but once they bring the gel back to the nest they don't come back. I've bought them at lowe's.

Definitely Terro.

Terro is basically borax acid and sugar water. It seems
like a clear maple syrup. It is safe around pets. Not sure
about kids but if the ants are inside cabinets maybe you
can put the sticky drop of posion paper inside the cab.
Give it at least 3 weeks. You need the ants to eat the
poison and take it back to their home to kill their
families. (Wow I sound so mean).

I even put real sugar with the terro on top. That way the
ants really get the poison but get excited to find sugar.
My ants have been gone for 2 yeas now. Be sure to leave the
trap filled with fresh terro at least 3 weeks to really kill
off the colony.

Best of luck.
~boxer

I had them in my truck. I opened the door and saw some on the armrest. I thought, "what are these ants doing in here?" And then I looked up....

The whole ceiling was covered with ants. The lights were full of ants and larvae. The visors were completely covered. I didn't wait around for boric acid to work. I used the nuclear option (RAID).

Cinnamon will also deter ants and is safe around pets.

I had a problem with tiny little ants at one time too ... and they stuck around for months! They would crawl through the baseboards and come out doing there formation marching dance whenever a spec of food was found on the floor. I kid you not, they would even do nose dives in my carpet when they saw me coming! I also had a spider hanging around at that time too, and I let him stick around cuz he became part of my "ant elimination crew" ;)

Searching the Internet I learned that there are several types of ants - some like sugar, some oils. Before laying out any anti-ant "potion", it's important to know what "potion" your ants like.

I mixed 2 concoctions to test this out ... 1 with the Boric Acid & peanut butter and the other with Boric Acid and jelly. They never touched the jelly, but "lived" in the peanut butter. So I let them enjoy a feast for WEEKS (like their last supper) before they finally slowly disappeared one day and never came back.

This was only last Summer so it may be too early to tell if this, along with my floor replacement (which included sealing all along the walls), will kept them out, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

I had them march into the back door (under) way back a long time ago and cinnamon across their entry point did indeed keep them from coming inside. Smells good too :) Thanks warmfridge for the memory refresh!

Thanks everyone. I have two metal discs (like boxes) that have holes in them with poison inside. I think they are made by Terro. I haven't seen a single ant near one, let alone go in the hole to take the bait! I have been using the Rinse and Hold cycle on the dishwasher in order to keep the temptations down for the little buggars. I'm in Iowa and we've had a wet Spring, so they are sticking around longer than they have in the past when I've had them. Tomorrow is supposed to be in the 90's....maybe that will fry them! At least it's nice to know I'm not alone! Thanks again!

A mixture of 20 Mule Team Borax and cinnamon works well, but i think you need to find out where the ants are coming into the house and dishwasher. Is it possible to pull out the dishwasher and look behind it? At least sprinkle or put one of your traps behind it?

In my experience, hotter weather makes more ants come out to look for water...

Terro- the best! The kids and I watched in fascination last year as the ants practically swarmed to the clear Terro trap. It was disgusting yet.... satisfying!!!

I found a great website: www.bugspray.com
They can help you identify exactly what kind of ant you've got and what you need to control it. Depending upon the brand of DW you have, you may be able to remove the bottom kick plate and sprinkle some granules in there. I've had an ant problem myself and have learned that ants like damp wood. Make sure that all of your plumbing connections are tight and that there aren't any slow leaks.
We're just embarking upon a kitchen re-do ourselves. This post reminds me that I might dust for ants between the floors and walls before we install the cabs. There are several things that will remain active for a period of years, if it stays dry. Good luck!

PS. Not an ad. I've just found the info on this website really informative.

I use AntBloch from Amdro (at HD/Lowes). You sprinkle it around the outside of the house, and with a day or two, all the ants will be gone.

We have a problem every spring, and sometimes will get a second colony, but I just sprinkle more AntBloch out and they'll be gone.

The last time I was there, I think I saw they are now making smaller indoor traps.

to the OP,
you didn't say what kind of ants. big black ones are carpenter ants looking for water. if you have carpenter ants they are attracted to wet wood, so in addition to spraying, you need to remove their habitat where they hatched from.

When you make up a slurry of water a tad sugar and mule team borax, put it in a lid like from margarine. The key is not to wipe up were the ants are coming in for 24 hours, (gross but they will follow the same trail) The ants injest it, bring it back to the nest feed the other ants and bye bye nest/ants. IF you ahve kids or dogs you need to put it in a spot they can't get to it. I just put a few lids on and in the dishwasher, and outside the door were I thought they were coming in. I left the mixture in the dishwasher and didn't open it for 2 days. After 3 days I scrubbed everything well and left the outside bait for a week more. It really does work.

I work at an Ace Hardware and we always recommend Amdro first. Pricey, but it targets the whole colony, and it's formulated for many different kinds of ants (15 I think?) so you don't have to worry about identifying your ants. It might take a few weeks to completely wipe them out, but customers have had great feedback, saying it worked when nothing else did.

Safer Ant & Crawling Insect Killer with Diatomaceous Earth is another option.

robj ... ROTFLMAO!!!!!!!!!

I've been battling them for years! This is the second year that i finally got a handle on them, and we haven't seen any inside yet.
1. When you first see just a few, looking for food, spray something noxious to repel them. I used to use this non-toxic spray from Orchard Supply Hardware, in a yellow can, but its no longer there, so i just use Listerine.
2. If they find food/water and start to swarm the house, out comes the Terro baits. Much better to open 2 at a time in the same area, because...
3. Unfortunately, my ants have memory! If the Terro doesn't kill the queen on the first go-around that season, then I notice that the ants in that area of the house will avoid new Terro baits, even if freshly opened.
4. Most colonies are outside, and send ants inside to forage for food and water. You can put the Terro sticks outside around the perimeter of the house, try to destroy all visible ant hills around the house, and/or try to get rid of weeds, foliage, anything that might attract ants (they like decomposing plants). We pulled up all the weeds outside our kitchen exterior wall, laid down landscaping weed fabric, and put bark on top. We noticed the number of scout ants decreased dramatically after that.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this will be permanent, since this was one of the rainiest CA winters on record, and i haven't seen one yet. I believe in boric acid so much that i bought 4 gallons of Boracare and had my builder spray the framing lumber of our new build. I also got some Borax and tried to stuff as much as possible in the walls behind the drywall. I think, though, if it gets wet, that it won't be effective anymore (or is that diatomaceous earth?)

Best of luck!